Bleach: Unlucky For Some
by Exrin
Summary: A Bleach fanfic revolving around an inept and awkward OC Shinigami trying to find his own path after graduating from the academy. Filled with cameos of various canon characters and many other new ones of my own creation who help or hinder his progress.
1. Second to One

This, as you probably would have guessed by now, is a Bleach fanfic centred around an original character but with plenty of canon ones appearing throughout. This is my first ever fanfic so please don't be too harsh but any input/critical reviews would be appreciated; I want to improve after all! This story falls somewhere between the death of Kaien and the whole Ichigo/ryoka business and hopefully there won't be any continuity errors... Enjoy!

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><p><strong>Second to One<strong>

A cool midwinter's sun hung in the cloudless sky over Seireitei warming everything in its gaze. The relative warmth that the pale yellow orb brought was greatly appreciated by the multitude of shinigami that stood in organised lines filling the expansive training courtyard. The dusty barren field was supposed to be empty this morning but due to the extraordinary number of people attending the graduation day ceremony, which was in its final stages, the procedure had to be moved here. Indeed the turnout was so great that the traditional assembly hall, where the proceedings normally took place, was abandoned due to insufficient room, forcing everyone outside. Not only was the number of students graduating this year higher than ever before, but eleven of the Gotei 13's taichos were in attendance, perhaps to encourage the new shinigami to join their division's ranks. At the very front of the horde of graduates, newly garbed in their black and white shihakushō, was Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13 and founder of the Academy. His voice boomed across the sandy training grounds which seemed contrary to his elderly appearance. Currently he was explaining that despite having learnt much during their time at the academy there was still much for the new shinigami to learn and they would do this under the leadership of one of the thirteen taichos.

"Your future leaders are assembled here," he indicated towards the captains that stood to the side of those assembled. "As you well know there are thirteen divisions in all, eleven of which are represented here by the ten taichos to your right as well as myself. Most of you have already chosen who you will be serving under for the foreseeable future, but for the rest of you I suggest you decide swiftly otherwise the decision will be made for you. Do not let the failure of Soi Fon and Jūshirō Ukitake to appear today dissuade you from joining their respective divisions. Soi Fon is currently on a vital reconnaissance mission whilst Ukitake is currently absent due to illness."

A muttered discussion began at the far end of the central most line of former students in reaction to the Sotaicho's last sentence. The culprits were a red-headed female and a scruffy brown haired male.

"Can you believe that? A captain so ill he can't even make the graduation ceremony," whispered the girl.

"Does it matter? It isn't compulsory for them to attend and besides the Nibantai taicho isn't here either," muttered the boy keeping his eyes forward.

"Yeah but at least she has an excuse. This Ukitake is a joke, who'd want a sick old fool for a leader. I'm glad I chose Kuchiki-sama's division."

"I've heard Jushiro's one of the best, actually, despite his illness, in fact I was thinking of joining thirteen."

"What!" the sudden outburst by the red-head caused several surrounding shinigami to turn round and shush her. She continued the conversation despite the disapproving stares and glances thrown her way. "Are you mad Tomohiro? I thought you were gravitating towards Shunsui's division with all the other slackers."

"I was _Akane_, but I guess I've changed my mind now." Tomohiro had hoped that he could have remained anonymous in this conversation in case someone overheard their mutterings and reported them for talking during the ceremony. He had quite a lot of experience of being reprimanded for chatting in class and it was almost always because of Akane.

"You really are a moron _brush-head_. I guess while your future taicho rests in bed mine will be giving me one to one tuition," her heart fluttered at the thought.

"In your dreams, I've heard he's as cold as ice. He rarely acknowledges his subordinates existence let alone take the time to babysit them!"

"B-babysit! What is that supposed to even mean? Just you wait, after a few years under Kuchiki-sama's wing, I'll be serving him as third seat!"

"Hah! Well I'll be fukutaicho before he even knows your name!"

There were more than a few people watching their now heated argument, one of the graduates in the outside right line, near the assembled leadership of the Gotei 13, reported their dispute .

"You as fukutaicho? I'm amazed an idiot like you even graduated, you make sloths look like hard workers! Besides you'd have to surpass the current fukutaicho and with your talent you'd be lucky to make tenth seat!"

"That's where you're wrong. Jūsanbantai don't have a second in command at the moment so I could just waltz in and be named fukutaicho within no time!"

"Tomohiro…"

"What are you lost for words? Typical, you always stop randomly when I prove you wrong!"

"No Tomohiro, you should stop...," Akane slowly raised her hand, indicating behind the now fuming shinigami. This was why he was the one that got into trouble whilst Akane seemingly always avoided the tutors notice; he never knew when to stop. Tomohiro's mouth opened but stopped suddenly, his brain intervening before any words could escape, but it was too late. Someone had already alerted one of the fukutaicho's to the pair's argument and he had approached to see what was going on. Akane had noticed him approach and saved herself at the expense of Tomohiro; a tactic she had adopted throughout her student-life.

Tomohiro slowly turned to face where she had been pointing and froze under the gaze of the alerted fukutaicho. He panicked, turning back to face his old accomplice only to be betrayed once more as she looked away denying any involvement with him. He had nowhere else to turn, there was no digging his way out of this mess.

"Oh…" he murmured pathetically.

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><p>Well there you have it! Hope it wasn't too bad but remember this is my first try. Who is the lieutenant I hear you ask? Well you'll find out in the next chapter!<p> 


	2. The Baboon's Howl

Well here's the second chapter. I'm pretty sure you guys and gals know who the lieutenant is by the title :D Hope I did him justice!

Oh and thanks to LaliLali and Wulf 4 Life for your reviews!

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><p><strong>The Baboon's Howl<strong>

"You've got some nerve causing a commotion during the graduation ceremony like that!" the fukutaicho currently barking at Tomohiro was intimidating to say the least. His bright red hair (not too dissimilar to Akane's), crazy eyebrow tattoos and toothy grin sent a shiver down Tomohiro's spine; this guy was made to be angry.

The two of them were some distance away from the large training fields, down a quiet alleyway out of the way from everyone else. The ceremony had finished a few minutes ago and everyone had returned or were in the process of returning to their regular duties. The new fully fledged shinigami had made their way to be briefed by their new taichos or had returned to the academy where they were selecting their future division; Tomohiro would give anything to be there now.

"Don't you know how important that ceremony is!"

"I do sir…" Tomohiro kept his head bowed and his eyes firmly on the ground. He couldn't bear looking at someone when they were scolding him, especially when they were shouting. Whenever he was told off as a child his eyes used to water as if he was crying. He had hoped he would grow out of it, but something about having someone in his face and lecturing him always made his eyes run.

"Do you think everyone from Gotei 13 were there for you to gawp at or something?"

"No sir…"

"Are you even listening to me? At least look at me when I'm talking to ya, don't bow your head like that!"

"Y-yes sir…" Tomohiro raised his head slowly, wiping the sleeve of his shihakushō across his eyes in an attempt to stop them from seeping water. He wasn't crying, he didn't cry. He winced, expecting the fiery haired Shinigami to start howling at him again, but instead the man seemed to relax and frown a little.

"Hey, come on, you don't have to ball your eyes out like that," the lieutenant rested his arm on Tomohiro's shoulder as if to reassure him. "I know what it's like to get into trouble in front of a bunch of people and I'm sorry for having to shout at you like that, but I had to, otherwise Kuchiki-taicho would have been on my back."

"I'm not crying sir … it's just you shouting at me and …"

"I didn't say you were crying and besides you have nothing to worry about. When I removed you from the ceremony it was practically over, the old geezer had finished his speech and everyone was waiting to file out." The tattooed man cracked a smile, "Come on you're a fully fledged member of the Gotei 13 now right? You've gotta be tough unless you wanna get trodden on by everyone else," Tomohiro smiled as well, not because he felt like he should, but because no one had ever talked to him like this. He had always been lectured at or scolded, like he was some sort of idiot, but this guy seemed to understand him.

"I will sir! Oh and about being a fully fledged member…," Tomohiro paused. He hadn't actually being initiated into a division yet despite graduating, he was probably the only one left to choose. "H-hey, how would I go about joining a division now? I mean like Jūsanbantai for example."

The fukutaicho raised one of his heavily tattooed eyebrows, "We-ell, you should probably go back into the academy, there should be someone who can help you there." He paused for a moment in thought. "Or I guess you could go straight to Jūsanbantai's barracks … unless of course you wanna join Rokubantai! We always need new members and I'm sure you'd fit in alright."

Tomohiro considered the offer for a while, but quickly remembered that Akane would be waiting for him in the barracks. He wasn't sure if he could face her right now and besides, the red-headed man was probably only being polite. "No, I've already made my decision, b-but thanks anyway sir."

The red haired man ruffled Tomohiro's already scruffy hair, "Well if you change your mind just come find me and I'll sign you up." The man looked as though something terrible had just popped into his mind. "I should probably get back to my own barracks, with all the new recruits coming in there's a lot of paperwork to sort through."

The Rokubantai fukutaicho jogged past Tomohiro, which quickly developed into a run. He turned back briefly to shout, "Good luck with joining thirteen!" before he disappeared round the corner.

Tomohiro now stood alone in the silent alleyway, puzzled as to what to think about what had just happened to him. Was he just let off the hook or was he still in trouble? It seemed as though there were reasonable people in this world.

Before he could gather his thoughts a familiar figure walked around the corner where the red headed man had ran down.

"Haven't you caused me enough grief today?" he was surprised at the tone of his voice, but he was still angry with her. Akane had got him into trouble countless times before and he had simply shrugged it off, but this time was different. This wasn't in the middle of a lecture or during a Kido instruction course. It was in front of every other student in their year _and_ almost all of the leadership of the Gotei 13, this time she had taken it too far.

"I'm sorry…"

Any ounce of rage that had filled his body had been quelled the moment she said those words.

"Wait…, what?"

"I said I'm sorry. I shouldn't have started talking to you, I shouldn't have shouted at you and I certainly shouldn't have let you take all the blame."

Tomohiro was stunned. Was he hearing this correctly? Akane was apologising to him.

"I've been horrible to you ever since I've met you, Tomohiro, and you've just stood there and accepted the blame for everything."

"L-look it's not that bad really…"

"No! I shouldn't be such a bitch and get away with it. I'll do anything to make it up to you, I'll even go on a date with you like you've always wanted to."

"Really it's fine…, wait when the hell did I talk to you about going on a date?"

Akane giggled wickedly and gave him a cheeky wink, "Oh don't be coy. I know you've always wanted to go out with me!" Tomohiro couldn't stop himself from blushing a little.

"What just because a guy happens to pay a girl a little attention doesn't mean he's in love with her..."

"I don't remember saying anything about you being in love with me. Look how the truth comes out!"

Tomohiro was bright red now. "Don't turn this around on me!" he stopped suddenly taking a deep breath, he realised what she was doing to him. "Wait a minute, I know what you're doing." Akane's grin seemed a little less impish now.

"Well it's made you feel better hasn't it? I am genuinely sorry though." She turned to look at the crisp winter sky; the sun was already about half way across its pale blue course. "Anyway, I should follow Renji-kun towards the Rokubantai barracks. I don't want to miss my introduction to Kuchiki-sama."

She let the sentence hang in the air before noticing that she failed to get the desired reaction. "Come see me when you have time. I like our conversations." She smiled at him before dashing around the corner disappearing the same way that 'Renji-kun' had gone.

Tomohiro stood in the alleyway for a few moments, processing all that had taken place in this isolated spot, before heading towards the Jūsanbantai barracks and, in turn, his future.

As he made his way across the tiled pathways he couldn't shake the image of Akane's smile from his head. For a moment, at least, he thought she had blushed.

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><p>Well there you have it, it was Renji after all! Hope it wasn't to mushy, especially at the end. Next chapter will see Tomohiro join a division. Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed :3<p> 


	3. Lucky For Others

Well here is the always difficult third chapter. Apologies for the length of time it took me to finally publish this but I had a lot of stuff going on. Anyways hope you guys like it and I hope I did the canon characters I included justice.

Once again thanks to Wulf 4 Life and LaliLali for your reviews. You two are awesome :3

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><p><strong>Lucky For Others<strong>

The giant white structure crested several times with golden tiled roofs loomed in front of Tomohiro, its form filling every inch of his vision. He had rushed straight here after his two successive confrontations in the alleyway and in truth he had been glad of the distance between him and his destination as it had given him time to think over how he would enter into the barracks and what he would say. He hoped that the buildings layout would be fairly simple, or at least he could work it out as he went through the corridors. Generally military quarters were built in a way that focused in on the offices of whoever was in charge so it was easy for anyone to find their way to the commanding officer, but if the layout of Seireitei was anything to go by the barracks would be just as randomly laid out. On his way over to the 13th divisions quarters, Tomohiro had walked into several dead-ends and roads that seemed to go one way but lead him the other. In the end he had given up following the pathways and simply moved as the crow flew, jumping over walls if necessary, he had gotten a few funny looks and shouts of disapproval, however after dislodging several tiles from clumsy landings. He had tried to use Shunpo on the way in an attempt to speed up his arrival, but he was still passable at best, only managing a few bursts of speed every so often.

Tomohiro pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his muddy-green eyes for a few moments before moving up the stairs towards the doors of the ominous central building, a giant number "13" written in kanji above the first jutting roof. His heart began to quicken as the shade projected by the large tower enveloped him and his feet brought him to the final step before he entered the fortress that would be his new home. But he had to find the taicho or at least the person in charge of recruitment before he could go any further along his shinigami career.

He made his way down the first corridor, many sliding doors running either side of him presumably leading to a shinigami's quarters or perhaps to a meeting room. The scruffy haired Tomohiro became increasingly aware of the shuffling noise of his sandals in the dead quiet of the hallways, it was almost perfectly silent and he began to wonder whether anyone was in the complex at all.

He turned round another corner hoping this one would lead him at least towards some sign that he was heading in the right direction. To his surprise, Tomohiro was greeted by a much wider corridor than he had been down before. Ornate vases run down parallel on each side, with the occasional scroll hung in between them, each bearing either an image or many vertical lines of neatly written characters. It appeared as though he was getting closer, he rationalised that the fancier decoration meant that this was where the seated officers were stationed. Tomohiro began to pay attention to what was written above each door in the hope that he could find the taicho's office, but they appeared to only be reception rooms of some sort.

He paced towards the end of the hallway, quickening with every step, he knew he was almost there. He soon came to a junction, one way heading east a little before returning north, whilst the other went straight west. Before Tomohiro could decide which path to take a short blonde shinigami came bounding towards his right, clutching a wad of papers to her small chest, perhaps she could point him in the right direction.

"Excuse m-"

"Aha! And Sentaro said that I was wasting my time out here waiting for stragglers, but I knew I'd find at least one of you. Come on get inside, Ukitake-taicho is about to begin briefing you!" The yellow haired girl tucked the various papers under one arm whilst swiftly grabbing the bemused boy with her other hand, dragging him down the corridor she had just been walking.

"Sorry whe-"

"Don't worry you haven't missed anything, Ukitake-taicho surprised us all and is going to be giving you new recruits a welcome speech. He's so committed to his division that he forced himself from his sickbed just to greet you newbies, so you'd better appreciate his efforts!"

"Wah? Oh, sure could you ju-" he wasn't cut off this time, but the force of being jolted to a stop mid-sentence knocked the words right out of him. For someone so small she was surprisingly strong. The petite shinigami slid open the door in front of her and motioned inside.

"Here we go! Now get inside quickly and find a place by the side, he'll be starting any moment."

Tomohiro walked in quietly as he was instructed, finding a place at the end of the line furthest away from the front so as not to draw attention to himself, sitting on his knees in unison with the other shinigami. His abrupt guide made her way to the front next to the man that must have been Ukitake Jushiro, captain of the 13th division. The white haired man was indeed sickly looking the dark rings beneath his eyes betraying the sleepless nights he must have been having due to his illness. He nodded as the blonde shinigami knelt beside him before he turned to face his new subordinates with a reassuring smile.

"As you are all probably aware by now," Ukitake began gently, "I am not exactly in the best of health so I will keep this brief. I am honoured that so many of you chose my division when applying to join the Gotei 13 and I read each and every one of your applications with interest. It was hard to have to deny anyone entry, but there were finite places available and I had to make some tough decisions. You should therefore feel proud for having made it this far and I hope that you become an invaluable part of Jūsanbantai as I am sure you will." The two shinigami either side of the captain appeared to be weeping a little, Ukitake's words apparently too much for them. "Now you have each been assigned a letter and a number, these correspond to the room you will be stationed in for your time as a member of my division. Sentaro and Kiyone will guide you there and if you have any questions I'm sure they will do their best to answer them. Get settled in and take note of your timetable, most of you will have duties to attend to tomorrow so don't stay up too late tonight!"

Ukitake nodded to the dark haired man on his right who swiftly got to his feet, Tomohiro surmised that he must be the third seat Sentaro that was mentioned in the captain's speech, which would mean the female shinigami must be Kiyone. He had heard about both of them during his time in the academy but had never seen either before. Their dedication and loyalty to their taicho was renowned.

"Right, everyone with a room that is lettered either 'N' or 'W' follow me out to your quarters where you will be assigned your timetable." His voice boomed around the assembly hall, he clearly took his role very seriously. The front half of the seated shinigami filled out behind him leaving the room in relative silence.

"The rest of you with 'S' and 'E' rooms follow me." Kiyone barked with similar gusto those remaining in the hall going out behind her.

The room was now empty but for Tomohiro and Ukitake; who immediately became aware of the others presence. The younger shinigami shifted uneasily where he sat now realising that he probably should have said something earlier, but had kept quiet through fear of embarrassing himself again in front of a large audience. At least this time it was just the captain and by all accounts Ukitake was a kind and understanding man.

"Excuse me, shouldn't you have left with the others or haven't you been assigned a room yet." The snowy haired captain's voice seemed to fill the room and yet still remain calming and friendly. "There's always some mix up this time of year with the influx of students from the academy and all the paperwork that they bring with them."

"Erm… well you see, taicho, I'm not exactly a member of your division yet and I was kind of hoping you might be able to help me with that…" Tomohiro trailed off hoping Ukitake would understand his plight. The centuries old captain seemed to consider what the young shinigami had said for a moment.

"Hmm, I see. Well I suppose I could have a look at your graduation credentials if you have them with you." The Jūsanbantai taicho steadily got to his feet and made his way towards the academy graduate.

"Um… I've got them right here Ukitake-taicho," Tomohiro pulled out several slightly crumpled documents from the breast pocket of his shihakushō, "but didn't you say you had to turn down some students… n-not that I want to dissuade you from accepting me because it'll make me feel bad. I-I mean it does make me feel bad but, I'd really like to join you're division if you'd let me!"

Ukitake began to laugh a little at the young man's eagerness, but it quickly turned into a chesty cough, he was clearly still quite ill. Tomohiro swiftly jumped up to steady the sick captain who was shaking violently with each cough, but Ukitake raised a steady hand to show that he was okay. "Don't worry, I'm fine, just don't make me laugh again. Come with me to my office, we can discuss your offer there."

"Hmm, well you certainly seem to have an excellent report from the majority of your academy professor's and the fact you took the final examination a year early is certainly impressive." Ukitake was seated behind his desk with Tomohiro's graduation documents laid out in front of him. Tomohiro sat directly opposite him eagerly awaiting the taicho's decision though he had half resigned himself to being denied entry into his desired division.

"I will have to crosscheck these with the Spiritual Arts Academy's records, of course, but I can happily announce that you are provisionally accepted into the 13th division, Tomohiro!"

Tomohiro's jaw would have hit the floor if it were physically possible. "B-but what about all of those applications you said you denied? I thought you were just being polite or something," he paused in the sudden realisation that he was probably coming across as an ungrateful little turd. Ukitake let out a deep sigh, his face the picture of deep contemplation; he looked at Tomohiro and spoke as sincerely as he could.

"You're right, I did say that I was oversaturated with requests, but in truth we received less than half the amount of applicants than the other twelve divisions. To be honest I don't blame them. I'm surprised that anyone would want to join a division whose captain is too sickly to prevent the death of his own lieutenant, not to mention the countless other shinigami who were killed or seriously wounded by that accursed hollow." Ukitake bowed his head down as if hanging it in shame his voice was now entirely despondent. "I fear that I have lost a great deal of trust within the Gotei 13 this past year, and I believe it is deservedly so. A taicho is supposed to protect his subordinates and I failed in that degree, perhaps I should reti-"

"No!" Tomohiro slammed his hand down on the captain's desk, "I won't have you talk so lowly of yourself after all the good you have done. My opinion may not count for much as I have only just graduated, but I know you're better than you give yourself credit. I thought long and hard before choosing you're division, Ukitake-taicho, even after hearing about the tragedy that befell Kaien. You've done too much for the Gotei 13 for them to just throw you aside which is why I'm sure they've retained confidence in you." Tomohiro's heart pounded as he realised that he had just shouted down the man who had just been gracious enough to accept him into his division despite the lateness of his application.

"Ehehe, sorry sir, I guess I got carried away there," he scratched the back of his neck nervously expecting the worst.

"No, you're right, I was being foolish. I have a division to run and too many people that rely on me to just give up." Ukitake sighed deeply before collecting the papers that lay on his desk placing them in one of the many drawers it held. "Anyway, I may as well assign you a room and timetable although it may be a while until you are officially a member of Jūsanbantai, there's a lot of red tape involved of course." Ukitake changed the subject quickly; the captain clearly no longer felt comfortable discussing something so personal with someone he had just met, which was understandable. "I have a few things I need to take care of here, but Sentaro or Kiyone should be able to find a place for you. Ah, I believe that's them now."

From outside the office door the sound of two people arguing could just about be heard. It seemed to grow steadily louder until the door was promptly slid open, the two third seats bursting in.

"I have finished assigning everyone to their quarter's taicho!" bellowed the dark haired Sentaro.

"Hey, that's my line! Besides I finished first so I could return to your side and aid you further taicho!" followed the smaller but equally deafening Kiyone.

"Well done both of you, as a matter of fact Kiyone I have someone else that you can show to their quarters." Ukitake indicated to Tomohiro who stood awkwardly under the gaze of the two new arrivals.

The two third seats had been working overtime ever since Kaien died. The death of a lieutenant would have hit any division hard, but it was different with the 13th. Kaien was an integral part of the divisions operation and was constantly relied upon due to the captain's intermittent bouts of bad health. Without the aid of the two of them Ukitake was certain that Jūsanbantai would cease to operate, he just wished they would cooperate more effectively instead of competing for his approval.

"Could show Tomohiro to room 22W? It should have a bed unoccupied."

"Right away sir!"

Ukitake turned his attention back to his division's newest unofficial member. "There should be a few of your fellow graduates there who can help you settle in. Kiyone should be able to answer any questions about your timetable if you have any."

"Thank you sir," Tomohiro replied following the female third seat out of the room.

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><p>Hmm it was kind of a long chapter to write and I stopped it where I did to prevent it from becoming to giant and so I could actually publish it. I hope I did Ukitake justice as he's my favourite captain :D<p> 


	4. New Friends

Another chapter up and not too long after the previous one! I've got a bit more time on my hands at the moment so I should be updating more frequently. This chapter is fairly short but it sets up for something big(ish) which will eventually get the plot rolling. :D

Please review! You don't have to say too much and I really appreciate any feedback! Thanks again LaliLali, I promise I'll pay you back soon (I've almost finished reading your first fic and it's awesome btw :3)

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><p><strong>New Friends<strong>

It had been a busy few weeks for Tomohiro since he had been accepted into the Jūsanbantai. It had taken longer than expected for his paperwork to come through, so he had only just recently been made an official member. This meant his first two weeks of work had been for free, only receiving his first pay check a day ago which had come as a great relief to him as living off of the division rations was not particularly fulfilling.

Today was perhaps Tomohiro's favourite day of his working week, an early start patrolling near the eastern side of Seireitei for numerous mind-numbing hours followed by absolutely nothing for the rest of the day. He spent most of this time chatting with the seven foot tall behemoth Kumakichi who shared his sentry duties. The two had become good friends, both sharing the same living quarters as well as joining the 13th the same day. They were currently discussing their times in the academy whilst standing in the shade of their outpost.

"Do you remember how all us guys reacted when we first saw that Maruyama-sensei was our kido instructor?" Kumakichi chuckled as he lent back against the white wall that sheltered him from the sun, arms folded across his immense chest. If there were bigger muscles on a man his size in Seireitei they were yet to be found.

"I think I remember you all gawked at her like she was some sort of lustrous love deity. I remember I was relatively unmoved by her apparent beauty," Tomohiro rebuked leaning back in unison with his brawny squad mate. In comparison to Kumakichi the scruffy brown haired shinigami was a stick, his muscles best being described as sinewy and being far less evident than his companion's.

"When the hell did you start speaking so poetically? And besides you have to admit she was pretty stunning."

"I'll give you she was pretty, but I wouldn't say she was stunning. She tried too hard, I mean the amount of makeup she wore was ridiculous and as for the clothes she wore you'd think she spent her nights standing on street corners."

"Hey come on that's a cheap shot," Kumakichi said with a slight frown, surprised at Tomohiro's blunt reply. "She was a good teacher and I know for a fact you liked her as a person even if you didn't care for her appearance," he finished sincerely. The two had actually known one another during their time in the academy though they hadn't exactly been friends. Tomohiro had been elevated into Kumakichi's grade in his second year as a student. At the time Tomohiro struggled to find any sort of connection with his older classmates finding himself largely ignored. Kumakichi was perhaps the only one that showed him any level of attention at all with the occasional 'hello' or nod as they passed one another in the hallway. Tomohiro was somewhat surprised that someone who seemed intimidating was actually friendly and very approachable.

"She was pleasant enough I suppose … and she did the impossible, helping me pass my kidō exams," Tomohiro conceded, smiling at the thought of the long nights he had spent with Maruyama-sensei practising kidō that was child's play for the other students.

"Yeah, if I remember right you almost blew your arm off the first time you tried to cast Shakkahō," Kumakichi sniggered unable to hide his amusement at the memory.

"It wasn't funny you know!" Tomohiro barked in reply, jumping up from his relaxed position.

"Hehe if you say so," the burly shinigami said, laughing at his companion's reaction. Tomohiro gave Kumakichi a deathly stare indicating he was none too amused that his supposed friend was laughing at his expense. "Oh come on you can't still be sore about that! It's not like you died or anything."

"I almost lost my right arm! I was lucky there was an experienced member of the Yonbantai on hand nearby." Tomohiro looked at his arm running his left index finger down the faint scarring that was still visible.

"Oh yeah, it was pretty serious wasn't it?" the smirk was wiped completely from Kumakichi's face as he recalled the severity of Tomohiro's injury. It had happened shortly after Tomohiro was transferred into the 'third year' grade after consistently outperforming the lower year's students. However there were soon doubts as to whether he was able to keep up with certain aspects of his new grade's curriculum; specifically in kidō and hohō.

In an effort to prove his ability to remain at his current level Tomohiro decided to cast Shakkahō without the incantation, something that his classmates had only just begun to learn. On his first try the spell had simply fizzled out in his hand, much to the amusement of the whole class who were watching him. Maruyama-sensei had then asked the class to quieten down and for Tomohiro not to worry, assuring him that what he was trying was very difficult for a student of his experience and that he would learn to perform mid level kidō without the incantation soon enough. This only served to encourage the embarrassed shinigami to try even harder, pouring dangerous amounts of reiatsu into the spell. Unable to convert his reiatsu correctly, the kidō erupted in Tomohiro's hand, engulfing his arm in red flames.

"I was just trying to impress you all," said Tomohiro solemnly, breaking the short silence. "I guess I felt I had something to prove after being advanced a grade a year early. And you all seemed so far ahead of me."

"Really? I don't remember anyone being particularly good when we all started out. If anything you were probably one of the better ones." Kumakichi said reassuringly.

"You're joking right? I was definitely the worst by a long shot," Tomohiro paused in thought for a second, "after Takeda-san of course."

"Yeah! He was a complete disaster, struggling to cast even the simplest Bakudō," Kumakichi said smiling at the thought of their inept classmate. "Do you remember when Kaito-san cast Sai on him? I swear it took him almost an hour to get out of it."

"You're right! I don't think he even got out of it by himself in the end." The two of them chuckled in unison at the thought.

"We had some good times in Maruyama-sensei's class," Kumakichi remarked, "it's a shame I didn't get to know you then."

"Agreed, I'm glad I've got to know you now though."

"Me too, it's funny how we were in the same classes for so long and didn't really talk to each other, but now we're in the same division supposedly working and we can't stop chatting." Kumakichi paused realising that Tomohiro was staring into the distance. "What is it?"

"Huh?" Tomohiro said vacantly turning his attention back to his squad mate. "Sorry, I thought I felt a familiar reiatsu off in the distance over there," he pointed off to his left towards the barracks of the Ichibantai. "It's gone now, maybe it was just my-" Tomohiro stopped midsentence rotating in an instant to face the wall he had previously been leaning on, sensing a burst of the same powerful and yet familiar reiatsu, his eyes looking up to meet those of another male shinigami.

"Well if it isn't my old friend Tomo-kun."

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><p>A cliffhanger of sorts... Hopefully I'll have the next chapter up soonish.<p> 


	5. Old Enemies

Well here it is my fifth chapter and not too long after the fourth. Well ok so I said I was gonna post regularly and I haven't so go ahead and call me a liar! Thanks to LaliLali once more for her review, your epicness truly knows no bounds :D If you want to be epic like her I suggest you leave a review! Go on it'll make you feel good. But seriously any sort of input is welcome and it makes my day to see that people read my stuff :3

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><p><strong>Old Enemies<strong>

"_Well if it isn't my old friend Tomo-kun."_

Tomohiro glared at the man standing on the wall above him, his eyes narrowed; perhaps due to his hatred towards the new arrival, although it was most likely just a way to shield them from the suns rays that peeked over the figure's shoulder, occasionally hidden by the man's long black hair that blew in the breeze. The man stood perfectly still, a condescending smirk on his face. Even though it was difficult for Tomohiro to actually see the man's expression, he nonetheless knew the sneer was there knowing the man all too well. Despite the innocuous look of the figure, compared to any other shinigami in Seireitei at least, Tomohiro kept his right hand close to the hilt of his sword. The silence continued for several agonising seconds until Kumakichi decided to break it, feeling a little left out of the staring contest that was currently being played out in front of him.

"Hey Tomohiro, who is this guy?"

Tomohiro continued to stare up at the 'guy' in question, apparently unaware of his squad mate's query, his hand still millimetres from drawing his zanpakuto.

"Come on old friend, aren't you going to introduce me?" said the mystery man, every word emitting arrogance. The man promptly leapt into the air, twisting midflight to face Kumakichi and Tomohiro, landing a few yards away from them. He bowed formally to the larger of the two, although it was apparent to Tomohiro that it was a mocking gesture.

"Tanzei, Kizamaru, the pleasure is all yours, I'm sure."

The muscle-bound shinigami scratched the back of his neck, unused to formality and clearly not reading Kizamaru's sarcasm. Kumakichi was not stupid by any meaning of the word, but when it came to social interaction he was even more clueless than his skinny companion.

"Uhh, Ikeda, Kumakichi," he replied giving a rather over-enthusiastic bow, attempting to copy Kizamaru's. The raven haired shinigami grinned in response to Kumakichi's gusto, turning his amber eyes to look at Tomohiro.

"See, that is how-"

"Why are you here?" Tomohiro rebuked, cutting the arrogant shinigami off midsentence and removing his hand from the proximity of his zanpakuto but still not quite relaxing. Kizamaru appeared unfazed, however, continuing to lecture the shorter shinigami.

"Now now, is that anyway to greet an old classmate?" he replied with melodramatic shock turning to Kumakichi as if for support. "You know I spent the last two years of my time in the academy in the same classes as him and he doesn't even write to me! It's probably jealousy you know, what with me graduating _a_ _year earlier_ than him even though I joined the academy _a_ _whole year_ after him. Some people just weren't raised properly, his parents should be ashamed!" a wicked smile spread across his face, "oh that's right, he doesn't have any, what with being dragged from the slums of Rukongai."

Rather than exploding in rage as Kizamaru had hoped Tomohiro simply sighed in disappointment. Sharing the same classes for almost 24 months had desensitised Tomohiro to most of the abuse he received from his pompous class-'mate'.

"Still using the same old insults Tanzei-ouji? I suppose the classics are always the best."

"Insults you say? When it's the truth I believe you call them hard facts, any offence taken is purely incidental," Kizamaru sneered still hoping to get some sort of reaction.

"Just get to the point, you must have some reason for coming here other than taunting me, or are you really that pathetic?" Tomohiro replied with a hint of anger in his voice making it absolutely clear he had no intention of responding to any of Kizamaru's provocations.

"Hmm hmm, you're right. I mean someone such as myself would have to have a pretty good reason for marching all the way over to the boundaries of Jūsanbantai. After all I might catch whatever disease that white-haired zombie you call a captain has." This time Kizamaru's words did goad an angry response, but not from their intended target. Kumakichi began to loom forward, rage seething through every fibre of his being.

"Oi, you'd better watch-" Tomohiro put his arm up to stop his enraged squad mate from doing anything he might later regret.

"Calm down Kumakichi-san, don't let him get to you so easily." He turned back to face Kizamaru, refusing to let his taunts affect him. "Tell us why you're here or leave."

"Hmph, is that anyway to speak to a seated member of the premier division of all Seireitei?"

"W-what?" Tomohiro replied, refusing to believe what he was sure he heard.

"That's right; remember I graduated a whole year before you did, Tomo-kun, and whilst you've been back peddling in this sorry excuse for a division I've been training under the guidance of the Sotaicho himself. He must really have an eye for talent choosing me as his _sixth seat_," Kizamaru said with great pleasure, annunciating every letter of the last two words, ensuring that the two members of the Thirteenth division heard him.

"You're lying," Tomohiro said abruptly, simply refusing to accept anything that the amber eyed shinigami boasted.

"Oh really," in one swift exaggerated motion Kizamaru withdrew an immaculate document from the recesses of his shihakushō, unfolding it carefully to display the neat rows of characters that were written on its surface. "I think you'll agree that this is an official document signed by Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto himself acknowledging me as his one and only sixth seat."

Both Tomohiro and Kumakichi craned forward to examine the paper in question which was unquestionably written by the Sotaicho himself. The latter shinigami seemed impressed by this revelation whilst conversely the former just about managed to hide his disappointment at the document's validity. Still if he couldn't challenge the authenticity of Kizamaru's rank he was certain that he could dispute how he achieved it.

"Wow, I knew certain families had the pulling power to 'buy' their brats way to graduation and even into a division, but I thought the Sotaicho had a bit more honour than to accept bribes when choosing his officers." Tomohiro knew he was clutching at straws, hoping desperately there was some truth behind his statement. Kizamaru's family was renowned for its incredible wealth and it wasn't unheard of for the leadership of Seireitei to give in to the wills of the Soul Society's powerful families.

"Oh come now, you've seen my talents for yourself. I fully deserve my current rank. If anything I deserve to be given higher honours."

Tomohiro sighed inwardly. Despite being an arrogant little upstart, Kizamaru was in fact a very talented shinigami. Were it not for the fact that he was so full of himself he might have become fairly popular, however being brought up as the only child, and therefore sole heir, of the affluent Tanzei family had made him a self important jerk unaware of anyone else's problems. His parents had offered to buy him into the good graces of the hierarchy of Seireitei, but Kizamaru had simply refused, fully aware of his own abilities. He aced the entrance exam into the Shinigami Academy and quickly became one of the establishment's star pupils, touted as being a future fukutaicho of the Gotei 13 and practically guaranteed a seated position in any division he chose. Joining Ichibantai was the only logical choice for someone like Kizamaru, not willing to be part of anything that wasn't considered 'number one' in its respective field. He was immediately admitted a position as officer and swiftly rose to sixth seat, though Kizamaru being Kizamaru his ego was not satisfied, desperate to one day achieve the rank of taicho.

"It's amazing what one can achieve when one puts one's mind to it." Kizamaru's annoyingly handsome face contorted into a wicked grin revealing the inner workings of his malicious mind. "It pains me to say this, but you might have actually got somewhere had you not spent so much time chasing that crimson haired whore."

Within a split second Tomohiro flashed towards the smug faced man his zanpakuto ready to slice him in two. Just as quickly as Tomohiro had leapt forward, Kizamaru drew his own katana easily parrying the wild slash away from his body and into empty space whilst putting a good few yards between himself and his assailant. Tomohiro glared at Kizamaru, his expression a picture of unconcealed hatred. The same infuriating smile remained on Kizamaru's face, his composure not broken for a second.

"Looks like I touched a nerve there, wouldn't you agree Kuma-kun?" His eyes remained focused on Tomohiro despite referring to the muscle-bound man. "Perhaps you should use those muscles of yours to restrain your friend before he does something he regrets."

"He's right Tomohiro-san, you shouldn't attack him here while we're on duty," Kumakichi said earnestly. He knew that his friend probably wanted nothing more than to rip Kizamaru's head off and he didn't want to stand in the middle of someone else's argument. However he'd rather see Tomohiro with a bruised ego and shake off Kizamaru's insults than attack him when he was supposed to be on duty and suffer the wrath of the laws of Seireitei.

The rage that filled Tomohiro's mind subsided a little, allowing him to think rationally about his actions. He knew that he couldn't just attack a fellow shinigami just because he hated them, even if they were a complete scumbag, but he could only check his temper for so long.

"Hmm, you're right," Tomohiro conceded weakly, "but I can't let the smug bastard get away with nothing!"

Kizamaru let out his trademark snigger, clearly pleased with the current turn of events.

"Well maybe I can help you there, Tomo-kun. How about we settle our little dispute at the southern training fields at midday? I'll tell you the conditions of our duel when you arrive." The long-haired shinigami raised an expectant eyebrow, knowing full well that he would get the duel he desired. Ever since Kizamaru heard of Tomohiro's graduation he wished to test his abilities against the man he considered his rival. The two of them had regularly been paired up with one another during sparring exercises in their academy days, quickly building up a 'friendly' rivalry. Despite varying greatly with their other shinigami techniques, their skill in Zanjutsu was almost identical, their duels often being decided by the tiniest of margins.

Tomohiro couldn't help but smile at the thought of duelling Kizamaru again, it had been over a year since they had last met and he was eager to defeat the man he hated most.

"Fine, but I promise you I won't hold back," he replied returning his zanpakuto to his side.

"Splendid, I wouldn't want it to be too easy," Kizamaru said with a smirk, sliding his zanpakuto back into its golden scabbard before disappearing from view with a flash.

Kumakichi turned towards his companion giving a goliath shrug of his mountainous shoulders, expressing his confusion at the recent turn of events. The smaller shinigami simply paced back over towards the wall, kicking at the floor with one of his sandals.

"I hate that guy…," Tomohiro muttered with a sigh.

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><p>Haha hoped you all enjoyed this chapter as much as I did whilst writing it! Hopefully it won't take me too long to post the next chapter...<p>

Oh and please please please leave me a review. Seriously it'll make my day :D


	6. Honour for Honour's Sake

Finally another chapter! Sorry for the long wait...

P.S. As a quick note when Tomohiro refers to Kizamaru as Tanzei-ouji he's basically saying "Prince Tanzei" as a sort of insult referring to Kiza's pompous attitude (Tanzei is Kizamaru's family name). Oh and a kosode (which is mentioned later) is basically the black jacket the shinigami wear.

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><p><strong>Honour for Honour's Sake<strong>

The sun shone brightly in the azure sky illuminating everything with its golden glow. It had already begun its gradual descent down from its peak height, slowly increasing the amount of shade offered by the trees that bordered the southernmost training grounds of Seireitei. During any other time of the year the shinigami that were training on the barren field would have taken refuge from the sunshine in the shadows of the nearby woodland, however the Soul Society was in the middle of its winter and so heatstroke was far from the minds of those currently sparring. There were relatively few clouds in the sky allowing the sun to warm the air so it seemed more like spring than winter. Many had taken advantage of the mild weather, making the training grounds relatively crowded much to the annoyance of a dark-haired shinigami resting by the sidelines on a tree stump.

Kizamaru had decided to arrive early; half hoping that Tomohiro would do the same despite knowing of his opponent's tardiness. He had spent the last twenty minutes surveying the multitude of mock-battles and kidō instruction sessions that were taking place whilst involuntarily tapping his right foot in impatience, sending particles of the red earth into the air with every tap. Eventually his tapping had become so fierce that the dust he was kicking up began to cover the majority of his right leg. He cursed after seeing the mess he had made of his otherwise immaculate appearance, brushing away the debris that had accumulated vigorously with both hands. Kizamaru was very much a perfectionist. Everything he did had to be perfect, whether it was eating a balanced and nutritious meal or filing and approving paperwork, it had to be done flawlessly otherwise it wasn't worth doing. This, of course, included his appearance. Every day he woke up early to give himself time to ensure he shihakushō was free of any imperfections, that his hair was free from knots and that his face was free from blemishes. Any day that he found a miniscule spot on his cheek or a stray nose hair protruding from a nostril was the worst day of his life, and he ensured that it was the same for anyone who had the misfortune of bumping into him.

Today had been a good day for Kizamaru, however. After learning of Tomohiro's graduation he quickly sought out his location with the single intent of challenging him to a duel. The two of them had not fought one another in a while; their last contest was over a year ago in the academy. That time Tomohiro had come out on top, disarming Kizamaru after only a minute. Kizamaru clenched his fists in anger at the thought of his failure against his sworn rival, he had been unable to obtain revenge after his defeat as he had graduated shortly after, but he was determined to prove himself better than Tomohiro. Kizamaru had worked tirelessly to improve his swordplay, even managing to share a few sparring matches against the Sotaicho, knowing that one day Tomohiro would graduate and he could set the record straight.

His thoughts of revenge were disturbed by the sudden appearance of an all too familiar reiatsu approaching him. Turning his head to the left, Kizamaru immediately met the distance gaze of his opponent. As he had expected Tomohiro had adjusted his shihakushō's sleeves, bringing them up to his shoulders and tying them in place to allow his arms to move more easily. Similarly he had tied back his mess of brown hair behind a strip of orange cloth acting as a bandana to stop it from blocking his vision. Unable to contain his anticipation for the impending duel he leapt to his feet resting his left hand on the hilt of his zanpakuto. As Tomohiro's face came into view Kizamaru noticed the hint of a smile on the edge of his rival's mouth, making it clear that he was just as eager to commence the duel as Kizamaru was.

"I see you still roll up your sleeves like a barbarian," Kizamaru sneered as Tomohiro stopped a few yards away from him, folding his arms across his chest as if expecting the comment.

"So, what are the rules of our contest, Tanzei-ouji?" Tomohiro replied, ignoring the long-haired man's remark.

"My my, are you that eager to be-"

"Just tell me the damn rules so we can get it over with," Tomohiro interrupted clearly not interested in hearing whatever insults Kizamaru had planned.

"Fine, but there's no need to get riled up," Kizamaru said with mock annoyance. "We will fight with only our unreleased zanpakuto, using no kidō or hohō. The winner will be the first person to successfully disarm their opponent or force them to concede defeat." It was essentially just like one of their sparring sessions in the academy and Tomohiro recognised this almost immediately cocking his eyebrow up at this realisation.

"You've had this planned for a while now haven't you? Ever since I beat you in that first sparring match you've hated me, constantly looking for the next opportunity to one-up me whatever way you can."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Kizamaru lied as his mind searched desperately for a snarky response, "I just wanted to give you a chance to face an opponent of real calibre since that division of yours is filled with everyone else's rejects. And besides fighting you is the closest one can get to facing a Hollow, what with all your mindless slashing and lack of finesse."

"Sure that makes complete sense. I mean you came out of the blue, probably travelling across the whole of Seireitei, just to insult me and Kumakichi. And then, after seeing that I wasn't in the best of moods after your constant taunting, you decided to offer me the chance to settle my grievances with a duel," Tomohiro said with more than a hint of sarcasm.

"I wouldn't have chosen those exact words, but yes I suppose that sums it up," Kizamaru replied none too surely. Tomohiro hadn't finished his attack on his rival's motive for instigating the duel however.

"Not only that, but you also happened to have the papers that proved you were a sixth seat with you, perhaps on the off chance that I might ask for some sort of proof of your rank, or do people often challenge the fact that you're an officer," Tomohiro said the last words with great satisfaction knowing that he had revealed Kizamaru's true intentions.

"Oh come now, you don't really think, I'd be so vain to…," Kizamaru trailed off after seeing the shrewd smile on Tomohiro's face. "Don't look so smug, you annoying little brat, you're just as desperate to prove yourself against me! I didn't exactly have to twist your arm to get you to accept my offer of a duel, did I?" Kizamaru's face was now bright red with rage.

"You're right," Tomohiro said calmly, "I do want to fight you. So let's settle this right here, right now." Tomohiro slowly drew his zanpakuto, letting its blade slide smoothly out of its orange and black sheath. Kizamaru similarly drew his own sword adopting his familiar battle stance placing one foot in front of the other and gripping his zanpakuto's hilt tightly with both hands. The two men nodded to one another, signalling they were ready.

"Begin!" Kizamaru shouted as he moved rapidly towards Tomohiro bringing his sword down in a swift diagonal cut. It was nothing more than an initial strike to test his opponent's reflexes, Tomohiro easily deflecting the blow and shifting his body away to the right, holding his katana in his left hand and supporting its blade with his right. Continuing with the momentum of his parry, Tomohiro spun around on his left foot, trailing out his right leg, aiming to trip Kizamaru with a sweeping kick. Before the attack could connect Kizamaru leapt, letting Tomohiro's leg brush harmlessly beneath his feet. The sweeping kick was only a decoy, however, as Tomohiro continued to rotate on the spot, this time leading with his zanpakuto in his left hand, slashing wildly at Kizamaru chest as he descended from his leap. Unable to fully block, Kizamaru only managed to deflect the strike upwards, sending it away from his body but along the length of his sword and towards his right arm, Tomohiro's blade tearing into the sleeve of his kosode and grazing his skin.

"You cut me!" screamed Kizamaru half in fury and half in surprise as he leapt several paces backwards from his opponent, clutching at his wounded arm. Tomohiro flicked his katana sending the shreds of black cloth dotted with specks of blood that clung on to its blade to the dusty ground.

"That's what happens when you fight with real swords and you don't take your opponent seriously," Tomohiro stated calmly. "Try hitting me for real this time and don't leave yourself so open."

"You petulant little twerp!" growled Kizamaru unable to hide his rage. "I'll show you how a real man fights!" Within a flash he charged within inches of Tomohiro, the point of his zanpakuto aimed at the gut of his sworn rival. Tomohiro had little time to react, just shifting his own sword in time to send the blade away from him and propelling himself to Kizamaru's left. His opponent didn't allow him any respite however, Kizamaru quickly charging back towards Tomohiro swinging his sword down in a vicious two-handed slash. This time Tomohiro dived out of the way, rolling to the right as Kizamaru's zanpakuto cracked the ground with its fierce impact sending shards of the hard red earth into the air. Before Tomohiro could even get to his feet, his raven haired opponent was already rapidly approaching him; his arms arced back for another vicious assault. Tomohiro was once again able to dodge by the skin of his teeth, Kizamaru's zanpakuto only managing to slice a few strands of orange thread from his opponent's makeshift bandana.

As soon as Kizamaru had finished his last swing he darted once more towards Tomohiro, his face contorted into a wicked grin, knowing that his rival was only able to recoil from his constant barrage of attacks. With one swift movement he brought his zanpakuto across horizontally towards Tomohiro's waist. Knowing he was unable to dodge the strike, Tomohiro just managed to bring his sword to meet Kizamaru's blade, supporting his katana with the reverse of his right arm. Despite his successful block the force behind Kizamaru's attack was so great that it sent Tomohiro flying towards the forest bordering the training grounds, the scruffy haired shinigami crashing into the trunk of a leafless tree.

Tomohiro cursed as he stumbled to his feet, his back searing with pain and his right arm bleeding from the impact of his own zanpakuto recoiling into his arm, its blunt edge managing to pierce his skin due to the ferocity behind Kizamaru's sword. Fully expecting another attack from his opponent, Tomohiro began to move out of the tree line, searching for Kizamaru, with his zanpakuto held firmly with both hands ready to block any incoming attacks. As he stood back out from the shadow of the densely packed trees, Tomohiro became immediately aware that his opponent was no longer standing on the training fields dusty ground. Twisting his head to the right, Tomohiro met the focused gaze of Kizamaru who stood several yards away on top of a reddish-brown boulder, holding his sword horizontally out in front of him. Tomohiro's muddy-green eyes widened as he came to the realisation of what was about to hit him.

"Hadō Number 32: Ōkasen!"

Within an instant Tomohiro was engulfed by a bright yellow light and propelled backwards into a large rock similar in size to the one Kizamaru was standing on. As quickly as the light had surrounded him a cloud of dust and debris erupted around him as he smashed into rocky ground. A satisfied smirk began to play on Kizamaru's lips as he marvelled at the ash cloud that enveloped his defeated adversary. He tilted his zanpakuto down to his side ready to slide it back into his scabbard but stopped halfway, distracted by the unexpected burst of reiatsu that seemed to come from the clouded crated.

Before Kizamaru could focus on the sudden spike of spiritual energy a bloodied Tomohiro leapt into the air from the smokescreen wielding a pitch black halberd with a crescent shaped axe head. With monstrous force Tomohiro slammed his lunar-headed weapon down in a vertical arc, seemingly aiming to slice Kizamaru in two. A surge of rock and dust shot from the ground as his swing made contact with the boulder, Kizamaru just managing to dive away from the lethal attack, skidding to a halt several yards away. Tomohiro turned unsteadily to face his opponent once more, his heart racing uncontrollably as he tried to control the urge to charge back over to Kizamaru and tear him limb from limb.

"Y-you tried to kill me and you released your zanpakuto!" yelled Kizamaru, his face a picture of indignation, shocked at the ferocity of Tomohiro's last attack.

"As if you have a right to complain," Tomohiro barked in response, blood pouring from his forehead, matting with his hair and bandana, "you could have equally killed me with that kidō!" Kizamaru smirked as if having only just remembered blindsiding Tomohiro with a mid-level hadō spell.

"Oh yes, I believe you are right. I suppose I may have momentarily forgotten the rules of our little duel," Kizamaru tailed off, an uncharacteristic look of concern emerging on his face. "A-are you ok Tomo-kun?" he remarked as Tomohiro began to sway a little, steadying himself by leaning onto his halberd shaped zanpakuto.

"I-I'm f-fine… I ju-just feel a bit faint," Tomohiro replied shakily holding a bloody hand to his pale face, his vision beginning to become fuzzy around the edges. "C-come on we can… we can… continue our duel as we are…." And with that he collapsed to the ground.

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><p>Please review!<p> 


	7. Second Opinions

Almost a year later and I finally get round to chapter 7! Hopefully it won't take me so long to post the next one... Enjoy!

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><p><strong>Second Opinions<br>**

Slowly returning to consciousness, Tomohiro opened his eyes, a harsh white light erupting into his vision. Immediately he shut them again, his head soaring with pain. The severe pang began to subside a little, allowing Tomohiro to become aware of the unmistakable sharp, bitter smell of antiseptics. Gradually the memory of his duel with Kizamaru came into focus. He had been gravely injured and collapsed unconscious. Tomohiro chided himself as he remembered how determined he had been to continue the dispute despite being keenly aware of the amount of pain he was in. He began to open his eyes once more, this time more cautiously, allowing his pupils time to adjust to the brightness of the room. His surroundings coming into focus, Tomohiro realised he was not alone.

"So, you have finally decided to awaken then?" came the soothing tones of the white haired man sitting in a cushioned chair in the corner of the room.

"Taicho!" Tomohiro jumped, attempting to salute his captain, but quickly coiling back in pain.

"You need to rest Tomohiro-kun!" Ukitake said, chiding his overzealous subordinate. "You are in the Sōgō Kyūgo Tsumesho for a reason after all!" he said indicating to the bedridden shinigami's head as well as his arm. Tomohiro reached up to feel the side of his head wrapped in bandages, wincing in pain as his fingers traced the wound. His right arm also had a slim bandage about half way to his wrist and his back was coated in purple and yellow bruises and twanged in discomfort as he shifted to sit upright.

"Tomohiro-kun, I cannot say that I am particularly pleased with your actions yesterday. To get yourself in such a state by duelling someone so far beyond your ability-"

"But Taicho, Kizamaru-" Tomohiro was cut off as quickly as he had interrupted Jushiro.

"No Tomohiro! You knew full well what you were getting yourself involved in," his tone was stern and serious, like a father reprimanding his son. Tomohiro looked down, unable to keep eye-contact with his captain, knowing he had been foolish to rise to his rival's challenge. Instead of simply ignoring Kizamaru's insults he had returned them. He knew it was no way for a Shinigami to act, but surely Kizamaru should take most of the blame? Tomohiro ultimately decided against mentioning this having already been reminded of his place. "I understand that you and Kizamaru-kun have a 'history' together, but to release your zanpakuto in anger is unacceptable." Withdrawing a neatly folded piece of paper from his robes as he moved over to Tomohiro's side, the long white haired captain presented the stamped document to the injured shinigami. "I've decided that it might be best for you to get out of Seireitei for a while," Ukitake said as Tomohiro unfolded and read the neatly written text. "As soon as you have fully recovered I would like you to leave for the World of the Living immediately along with Kumakichi-kun." Seeing Tomohiro start to frown, clearly thinking he was being moved out of the way, Ukitake's voice began to soften and he smiled warmly. "You needn't worry Tomohiro-kun, this is not a punishment; I had intended to send you on this mission for a while now."

The room fell into silence as Tomohiro continued to glance over his orders. Ukitake returned to his chair and once seated glanced out of the open window into the impressive panorama of Seireitei that being in a 4th storey room offered. The cold breeze that crept in gave him goosebumps but he'd rather that than suffer the stuffiness of the hospital room. "It's a little strange for me to be visiting a patient; normally I'm the one confined to a sick bed," Ukitake said wistfully, more to himself than to Tomohiro.

"How did I get here?" Tomohiro asked, folding the paper away and placing it on the bedside table, wincing a little as his back twinged in pain.

"Kizamaru-kun brought you here," the taicho replied turning away from the window.

"What? But he was the one that injured me?"

"Did you think he would leave you there?" Ukitake said raising an eyebrow. "He may not be the friendliest person in the world, but his commitment to being a shinigami cannot be questioned. In fact, I considered accepting him into the Jūsanbantai, but I felt his attitude was not befitting of someone I'd want in my division." Tomohiro smirked, feeling a little relieved that he had escaped being in the same division as Kizamaru; the idea of having him as a direct superior was something that he was reluctant to imagine. "Yamamoto-taicho was apparently able to see past his arrogance or perhaps knew he could put him in his place. Regardless of what the Sotaicho saw in him, Kizamaru has become an impressive shinigami and it's no coincidence that he's already an officer." Tomohiro's expression darkened a little, despite his hatred towards his pompous rival it was apparent that Kizamaru had progressed far beyond the level he was at whilst in the academy, the gap between their abilities widening rather than closing it as Tomohiro had hoped upon joining the Jūsanbantai. It was apparent that he had a long way to go if he was going to achieve the rank of fukutaicho as he had foolishly claimed on the day of his graduation. Ukitake rose up out of his chair again, this time walking over to the sliding door at the other side of the room.

"Anyway, I'll leave you to recover now. You'll need to be at your best for what awaits you in the World of the Living," the snow haired captain said with a warm smile. As his taicho left the room, Tomohiro closed his eyes and slipped into a contented sleep.

* * *

><p>Hmm. This was a tricky chapter to write which is why it took me so long to finish. I think it turned out ok now and now I can really move on with the plot. :D<p> 


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